JP5591262B2 - Communication apparatus and communication method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an IEEE (Institut of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 standard WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) and an IEEE 802.15 standard WPAN (Wireless Network system). Is.

  In recent years, networks using wireless terminals with low power consumption such as WPAN and sensor networks have attracted attention. As a similar system, there is a system such as an active RF (Radio Frequency) tag that transmits a radio signal by itself.

  FIG. 43 is a diagram illustrating an example of a conventional wireless network configuration.

  In FIG. 43, the wireless network includes a control station 1001 that is a wireless control station and terminal devices 1002, 1003, and 1004 that are a plurality of wireless terminal devices. The control station 1001 periodically broadcasts the control information included in the beacon packet to the terminal devices 1002 to 1004. The terminal devices 1002 to 1004 communicate with the control station 1001 based on this control information.

  Note that various access control methods can be used for the control station 1001 and the terminal devices 1002 to 1004. For example, CSMA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access), TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access), or FDMA (Frequency-Division). Multiple Access) or the like can be used.

  The wireless devices (control stations 1001 and 1002 to 1004 terminal devices) used in these wireless networks are characterized by low power consumption performance. For example, in order to reduce the power consumption of the wireless device, an active period in which communication is performed in the wireless network and an inactive period in which a sleep state can be entered without performing communication are provided. If the inactive period is lengthened, the sleep state can be lengthened, so that power consumption can be reduced.

  FIG. 44 shows an example of the frame period. Specifically, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a relationship between a conventional beacon period, an active period, and an inactive period.

  In FIG. 44, one frame period includes an active period 1007 and an inactive period 1008. The active period 1007 is a period during which the control station 1001 and the terminal devices 1002 to 1004 communicate.

  The inactive period 1008 is a period in which the control station 1001 and the terminal devices 1002 to 1004 do not communicate. During this period, the control station 1001 and the terminal devices 1002 to 1004 reduce power consumption by entering a sleep state. Can do. Even in the active period 1007, a terminal device that does not perform communication can reduce power consumption by entering a sleep state.

  The control station 1001 and the terminal devices 1002 to 1004 use the active period in common. The control station 1001 broadcasts a beacon frame 1009 using the first period of the active period. That is, the beacon period 1006 is the sum of the active period 1007 and the inactive period 1008.

  The active period other than broadcasting the beacon frame is used for communication between the control station 1001 and the terminal devices 1002 to 1004, and for example, CSMA can be used. In addition, the active period may be divided into a plurality of time slots, and the slots may be shared by slots CSMA and TDMA. For example, in the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, the time slot in the first half of the active period is used for contention access by CSMA, and the time slot in the second half of the active period is used for communication to which a radio apparatus to be used for each time slot is assigned. .

  The beacon frame includes control information regarding the frame such as the number of these time slots and their allocation, the length of the active period, the length of the inactive period, and the time until the next beacon frame transmission.

  FIG. 45 is a flowchart showing an example of a sequence for performing data communication from the conventional control station 1001 to the terminal device 1002.

  As shown in the figure, when data to be transmitted to the terminal device 1002 is generated (S1010), the control station 1001 buffers the data. The control station 1001 adds information for buffering data to be transmitted to the terminal device 1002 to the beacon frame, for example, adds a Data Pending Address List in the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, and starts the first active period. Broadcast a beacon frame (S1011). In the IEEE 802.11 standard, the control station 1001 adds a TIM (Traffic Indication Message) instead of adding the Data Pending Address List, and broadcasts a beacon frame at the beginning of the active period.

  The terminal device 1002 changes from the sleep state to the activated state at the timing of receiving the beacon frame, and receives the beacon frame (S1011). The beacon frame includes the length of the active period, the length of the inactive period, the time until transmission of the next beacon frame, Data Pending information, and the like. In addition, the terminal device 1002 always changes to the activated state at the timing of receiving the beacon frame and receives the beacon frame.

  When the terminal device 1002 analyzes the Data Pending information of the beacon frame (S1012) and recognizes that there is data addressed to itself, it transmits a data request to the control station 1001 (S1013). Upon receiving the data request (S1013), the control station 1001 transmits the buffered data to the terminal device 1002 (S1014), and the terminal device 1002 returns an ACK that is an arrival confirmation signal to the control station 1001 ( S1015).

  As described above, the terminal device 1002 changes from the sleep state to the activated state at the timing of receiving a periodically transmitted beacon frame, and checks whether there is data addressed to itself based on the beacon frame. If there is data addressed to itself, the terminal device 1002 receives the data after making an inquiry to the control station, and enters the sleep state until the next beacon frame reception timing. On the other hand, if there is no data addressed to the local station in the beacon frame, the terminal device 1002 immediately enters the sleep state until the next beacon frame reception timing. With this operation, the power consumption of the terminal device 1002 is reduced.

  That is, in order to realize a significant reduction in power consumption of the terminal device 1002, a method of setting a longer sleep state time of the terminal device 1002 and extending the cycle of the beacon frame can be considered. However, while the power consumption of the terminal device 1002 can be reduced, the buffering time in the control station 1001 becomes long, and the delay time until the data reaches the terminal device 1002 becomes long. This has the problem of causing problems for applications that require real-time performance and immediateness.

  To deal with the above problem, in Patent Document 1, first, the statistics of the time information of the data frame received by the terminal device is taken to determine whether the data traffic is regular (stream) or continuous (burst). When the data received by the terminal device is periodic (stream) data, the transmission period of the beacon frame from the control station is changed in accordance with the data reception interval. On the other hand, if the data received by the terminal device is continuous (burst) data, distinguish the period in which the data continues and the period in which the transfer stops for a while, and whether to continue the activation state according to that period. Decide whether to go to sleep. Thereby, in patent document 1, the delay of data reception is suppressed, real-time property is maintained, and the improvement in the power saving effect is realized.

JP 2006-238320 A

  Here, in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to discriminate between stream data and burst data, a period in which data transfer continues continuously, and a period in which data transfer stops for a while based on statistics of data frame reception history. is there. However, there are cases where there is no regularity of received data depending on the application, and there is a problem that it is not possible to determine whether to continue the activation state or enter the sleep state.

  For example, an example of an application having no data regularity is peak suppression in EMS (Energy Management System).

  FIG. 46 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network configuration for realizing an in-home EMS application. The energy controller 1021 has a function of a radio control station. Network home appliances 1022, 1023, and 1024 have a function of a wireless terminal device. The distribution board 1025 can measure the total power consumption in the home and notifies the energy controller 1021 of the information. The total power consumption is the total power consumed by a plurality of devices such as home appliances at the same time and consumed by these devices. The unit is, for example, watts (W). There are other units of electric energy such as watt hour (Wh) and kilowatt hour (kWh). Network home appliances are home appliances that have a communication function and are connected to a network.

  47A and 47B are diagrams illustrating an example of a correspondence relationship between total power consumption and time. Specifically, FIG. 47A is an example showing temporal variation of the total power consumption 1031 in the home. FIG. 47B is an example showing temporal variation of the total power consumption 1031 at the time of peak suppression execution.

  As shown in FIG. 47A, the dotted line indicates the maximum usable power value 1032. The maximum usable power value 1032 is, for example, an allowable amount of a breaker (breaker) of a distribution board, a supply amount from an electric power company, an electricity rate fluctuation boundary line, a private power generation supply amount by a solar power generation device or a fuel cell device, and the like. is there. Here, the maximum usable power value 1032 is an example of the allowable amount of the breaker of the distribution board.

  In addition, when the total power consumption 1031 exceeds the maximum usable power value 1032 at time T1, for example, the breaker falls and the power supply to the operating device stops. For some devices, such as a microwave oven, rice cooker, washing machine, personal computer, and HDD recorder that is recording, it is not preferable that the power is turned off during operation.

  Therefore, there is a peak suppression in which the operation status and total power consumption of each device are grasped in real time, and the total power consumption 1031 is controlled so as not to exceed the maximum usable power value 1032. For example, as shown in FIG. 47B, a peak suppression threshold 1033 smaller than the maximum usable power value 1032 is provided. When the total power consumption 1031 exceeds the peak suppression threshold 1033, the energy controller 1021 suppresses the total power consumption 1031 by remotely operating the network home appliances 1022 to 1024 to turn off the power or change the setting items.

  This is also called peak cut. For example, the total power consumption 1031 can be suppressed by turning off the power supply of home appliances such as lighting and television, changing the set temperature of the air conditioner, changing the high wind mode of the air conditioner to the power saving mode, or lowering the illuminance of the illumination. Is possible.

  In FIG. 47B, the total power usage 1031 exceeds the peak suppression threshold 1033 at time T2. Here, this figure is an example in which the total power consumption 1031 does not exceed the maximum usable power value 1032 by performing peak suppression.

  In addition to such peak cuts, there are also peak shifts that shift the peak time of total power consumption.

  As described above, EMS peak suppression requires low-latency control, and the total power consumption changes over time depending on various factors such as each household, time zone, region, season, climate, and country. It is not easy to statistically learn the regularity of. Therefore, in applications such as peak suppression without data regularity, there is a problem that it is difficult to achieve both low power consumption and real-time characteristics (low delay, immediacy) of the communication terminal device.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and a communication apparatus and communication capable of achieving both low power consumption and real-time performance of a communication terminal apparatus even in applications such as peak suppression without data regularity. It aims to provide a method.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problem, a communication device according to an aspect of the present invention is configured such that a communication terminal device that repeats a start-up state in which communication is possible and a sleep state in which communication is not possible is in a start-up state. A communication device that transmits / receives data to / from the communication terminal device by transmitting a signal for establishing transmission / reception of data to the communication terminal device, the power consuming device including the communication terminal device The transmission cycle is determined so that the transmission cycle for transmitting the signal becomes longer as the differential power value, which is a value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption value of the power consuming device from the suppliable power value, increases. In order to cause the communication terminal apparatus to be activated in a cycle according to the determined transmission cycle, a signal including information indicating the determined transmission cycle is transmitted to the communication terminal device. And a communication interface unit for signal.

  With this configuration, the communication device as the control station has a transmission cycle determined to be longer as the difference power value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption value of the power consuming device from the suppliable power value to the power consuming device is larger. A signal including the information to be transmitted is transmitted to the communication terminal device. That is, the signal transmission cycle is calculated based on the remaining usable power information. As a result, peak suppression for controlling the total power consumption value so as not to exceed the suppliable power value is controlled without delay, and if the differential power value is large, the signal transmission cycle is set to be long. And if the transmission cycle of a signal is set long, a communication terminal device can maintain a sleep state for a long time. For this reason, even in applications such as peak suppression without data regularity, it is possible to achieve both low power consumption and real-time performance of the communication terminal device.

  Preferably, the power saving control unit further includes a power management storage unit that stores a generated power value of the power generation device, a stored power value of the power storage device, and a total power consumption value of the power consuming device. Calculating the differential power value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption value from the suppliable power value using the sum of the generated power value and the accumulated power value as the suppliable power value, and the calculated differential power value is The transmission period is determined so that the transmission period becomes longer as the value becomes larger.

  With this configuration, the communication device as the control station determines the transmission cycle so that the transmission cycle becomes longer as the difference power value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption value from the sum of the generated power value and the accumulated power value is larger. In other words, the power value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption from the power generated and stored at home or in the area, that is, the remaining power information that can be used for self-power generation and self-storage without purchasing power from the commercial power system of the power company. Based on this, a signal transmission cycle is calculated. As a result, peak suppression that controls the total power consumption so that it does not exceed the remaining power that can be used for self-power generation and self-storage is controlled without delay, and if the differential power value is large, A long transmission cycle is set. And if the transmission cycle of a signal is set long, a communication terminal device can maintain a sleep state for a long time. For this reason, even in applications such as peak suppression without data regularity, it is possible to achieve both low power consumption and real-time performance of the communication terminal device.

  The power saving storage unit further stores an electricity charge fluctuation boundary value, which is a power value at the boundary where the electricity charge increases, and a total power consumption value of the power consuming device, and the power saving control unit includes: The difference power value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption value from the suppliable power value using the electricity charge fluctuation boundary value as the suppliable power value is calculated, and the transmission period increases as the calculated difference power value increases. You may decide to determine the said transmission period so that it may become long.

  With this configuration, the communication device as the control station determines the transmission cycle so that the transmission cycle becomes longer as the difference power value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption value from the electricity rate fluctuation boundary value is larger. That is, the signal transmission cycle is calculated based on the power value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption from the power information of the contracted electricity rate fluctuation boundary value of the power company, that is, the power information available with the current contracted electricity rate. As a result, peak suppression for controlling the total power consumption value so that it does not exceed the current contracted electricity bill boundary value is controlled without delay, and if the differential power value is large, the signal transmission cycle is set longer. The And if the transmission cycle of a signal is set long, a communication terminal device can maintain a sleep state for a long time. For this reason, even in applications such as peak suppression without data regularity, it is possible to achieve both low power consumption and real-time performance of the communication terminal device.

  The power saving control unit further includes a power management storage unit that stores a distribution board supply capability value indicating a power value that can be supplied by the distribution board, and a total power consumption value of the power consuming device. Calculating the difference power value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption value from the suppliable power value using the distribution board supply capacity value as the suppliable power value, and the transmission power increases as the calculated difference power value increases. The transmission cycle may be determined so that the cycle becomes longer.

  With this configuration, the communication device as the control station determines the transmission cycle so that the transmission cycle becomes longer as the difference power value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption value from the distribution board supply capability value increases. That is, based on the power supply power of the distribution board, for example, the power value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption from the limit value of the breaker (breaker) of the distribution board, that is, the current power information that can be supplied by the distribution board, Calculate the signal transmission period. As a result, peak suppression for controlling the total power consumption value so as not to exceed the current distribution board supply capacity limit value is controlled without delay, and if the differential power value is large, the signal transmission cycle is Set long. And if the transmission cycle of a signal is set long, a communication terminal device can maintain a sleep state for a long time. For this reason, even in applications such as peak suppression without data regularity, it is possible to achieve both low power consumption and real-time performance of the communication terminal device.

  Preferably, the apparatus further includes a device characteristic storage unit that stores a change rate of the power consumption value of each of the power consumption devices, and the power saving control unit is calculated from the change rate of the power consumption value. The transmission period is determined by calculating a value obtained by dividing the difference power value by a value obtained using the rate of change of the total power consumption value as a transmission period.

  With this configuration, the communication device as the control station calculates, as the transmission cycle, a value obtained by dividing the differential power value by the value obtained using the change rate of the total power consumption value calculated from the change rate of the power consumption value. Thus, the transmission cycle is determined. Thereby, it is possible to accurately calculate the transmission cycle for transmitting signals so that the total power consumption value does not exceed the suppliable power value.

  Preferably, the transmission cycle pattern storage unit further stores a transmission cycle pattern that is a pattern of the transmission cycle, and the power saving control unit transmits the signal as the difference power value increases. A transmission cycle that increases the cycle is calculated, and the transmission cycle that is equal to or shorter than the calculated transmission cycle and that is the longest in the transmission cycle pattern is determined as the transmission cycle.

  With this configuration, the communication device as the control station further calculates a transmission cycle that becomes longer as the difference power value is larger, and is within the calculated transmission cycle and within the transmission cycle pattern from the transmission cycle pattern. The longest transmission cycle is determined as the transmission cycle. That is, in a communication network system in which the signal transmission cycle is defined in several patterns, such as IEEE 802.15.4, the transmission cycle can be selected from within the determined pattern range.

  Furthermore, an app allowable delay storage unit that stores an allowable delay time that is an allowable delay time when executing a predetermined application is provided, and the power saving control unit increases the difference power value. The transmission cycle is calculated such that the transmission cycle for transmitting the signal is long, and the calculated transmission cycle is shorter than the shortest allowable delay time among the allowable delay times stored in the application allowable delay storage unit. The allowable delay time of the shortest value is determined as the transmission cycle, and when the calculated transmission cycle is equal to or shorter than the allowable delay time of the shortest value, the calculated transmission cycle is determined as the transmission cycle. May be determined as

  With this configuration, the communication device as the control station further calculates a transmission cycle that becomes longer as the differential power value increases, and the calculated transmission cycle is within the allowable delay time stored in the application allowable delay storage unit. If it is longer than the minimum allowable delay time, the minimum allowable delay time is determined as the transmission period. As a result, in a communication network system in which a plurality of applications having different allowable delay times operate, it is possible to prevent the transmission period from being set exceeding the allowable delay time of the application and satisfy the allowable time of the application.

  Preferably, the signal is a beacon signal or an awake signal that controls an activation state and a sleep state of the communication terminal device.

  According to this configuration, the signal is a beacon signal or an awake signal. That is, the communication device as the control station transmits a beacon signal that is a beacon frame, or an awake signal that is awake data that controls the sleep state and awake state of the communication terminal device even in a network system in which the beacon frame is not used. Send. As a result, peak suppression that controls the total power consumption value so that it does not exceed the suppliable power value is controlled without delay, and if the differential power value is large, the beacon signal or awake signal transmission cycle is set long. Is done. And if the transmission cycle of a signal is set long, a communication terminal device can maintain a sleep state for a long time. For this reason, even in applications such as peak suppression without data regularity, it is possible to achieve both low power consumption and real-time performance of the communication terminal device.

  In addition, preferably, it further includes a channel number storage unit that stores the number of frequency channels that is the total number of frequency channels currently used, and the power saving control unit further uses the frequency channel number, An active period and an inactive period of the determined transmission period are calculated, and the communication interface unit transmits the signal including information indicating the transmission period, the active period, and the inactive period to each frequency channel. Send with.

  With this configuration, the communication device as the control station further calculates the active period and the inactive period of the determined transmission period using the number of frequency channels, and calculates the transmission period, the active period, and the inactive period. A signal including the indicated information is transmitted on each frequency channel. That is, in a communication network system in which a plurality of frequency channels are used, not only the transmission period is calculated, but the active period and the inactive period in the transmission period are calculated from the total number of channels used. As a result, it is possible to realize low power consumption in the inactive period of the communication terminal device that operates in each frequency channel.

  Preferably, the power saving control unit calculates the active period by multiplying the reciprocal of the number of frequency channels by the determined transmission period, and obtains a value obtained by subtracting the reciprocal of the number of frequency channels from 1. The inactive period is calculated by multiplying the determined transmission cycle.

  With this configuration, the communication apparatus as a control station calculates the active period by multiplying the transmission cycle in which the reciprocal of the number of frequency channels is determined, and sets the value obtained by subtracting the reciprocal of the number of frequency channels from 1 to the determined transmission cycle. By multiplying, the inactive period is calculated. That is, in a communication network system using a plurality of frequency channels, the active period and the inactive period are calculated according to the total number of channels used. As a result, it is possible to realize low power consumption in the inactive period of the communication terminal device that operates in each frequency channel.

  Preferably, the communication interface unit is a wireless communication interface or a power line communication interface compliant with the IEEE 802.15.4 standard.

  With this configuration, a communication device as a control station can be used in a wireless network system compliant with the IEEE 802.15.4 standard or a PLC (Power Line Communication) network system using a power line communication interface.

  In addition, the present invention can be realized not only as such a communication device, but also as an integrated circuit including each processing unit constituting the communication device, or as a method using the processing of each processing unit as a step. can do. Furthermore, the present invention can be realized as a program for causing a computer to execute these steps, as a recording medium such as a computer-readable CD-ROM in which the program is recorded, or as information, data, or a signal indicating the program. It can also be realized. These programs, information, data, and signals may be distributed via a communication network such as the Internet.

  According to the communication apparatus according to the present invention, it is possible to achieve both low power consumption and real-time performance of the communication terminal apparatus even in applications such as peak suppression without data regularity.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a network configuration according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the energy controller according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the wireless communication IF of the energy controller according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a memory structure diagram of a home appliance characteristic table held by the energy controller according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a memory structure diagram of a power management table held by the energy controller according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the power saving control unit of the energy controller according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the peak suppression unit of the energy controller according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a memory structure diagram of the power visualization table held by the peak suppression unit of the energy controller according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the network home appliance according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the wireless communication IF of the network home appliance according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the power saving control unit of the energy controller according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a correspondence relationship between total power consumption and time in the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of the peak suppression unit of the energy controller according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 14 is a memory structure diagram of another power management table held by the energy controller according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the energy controller according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the power saving control unit of the energy controller according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 17 is a memory structure diagram of a beacon table held by the power saving control unit of the energy controller according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the operation of the power saving control unit of the energy controller according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the energy controller according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the power saving control unit of the energy controller according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. FIG. 21 is a memory structure diagram of an application allowable delay table held by the power saving control unit of the energy controller according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the operation of the power saving control unit of the energy controller according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing the relationship between the access period and time in the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 24 is a sequence diagram in which the energy controller according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention transmits awake data to network home appliances and transmits the data. FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the energy controller according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. FIG. 26 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the wireless communication IF of the energy controller according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. FIG. 27 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the power saving control unit of the energy controller according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. FIG. 28 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a network home appliance according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing the operation of the power saving control unit of the energy controller according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. FIG. 30 is a diagram showing a network configuration in the fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 31 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the energy controller according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention. FIG. 32 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the PLC communication IF of the energy controller according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention. FIG. 33 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the network home appliance in the fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 34 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the PLC communication IF of the network home appliance in the fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 35 is a diagram showing a network configuration in the sixth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 36 is a diagram illustrating a correspondence relationship between the frequency channel and time of the energy controller according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention. FIG. 37 is a diagram illustrating a correspondence relationship between the energy controller, the frequency channel of the network home appliance, and time in the sixth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 38 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the energy controller according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention. FIG. 39 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the wireless communication IF of the energy controller according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention. FIG. 40 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the power saving control unit of the energy controller according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention. FIG. 41 is a flowchart showing the operation of the power saving control unit of the energy controller according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention. FIG. 42 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the energy controller according to a modification of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 43 is a diagram illustrating an example of a conventional wireless network configuration. FIG. 44 is a diagram showing a relationship between a conventional beacon period, an active period, and an inactive period. FIG. 45 is a flowchart showing an example of a sequence in which a conventional control station transmits data to a terminal device. FIG. 46 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network configuration for realizing an in-home EMS application. FIG. 47A is a diagram illustrating an example of a correspondence relationship between total power consumption and time. FIG. 47B is a diagram illustrating an example of a correspondence relationship between total power consumption and time.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a network configuration according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, the energy controller 10 is connected to network home appliances 11 a, 11 b, 11 c by radio 230. The energy controller 10 is included in the “communication device” described in the claims, and the network home appliances 11a, 11b, and 11c are included in the “communication terminal device” described in the claims.

  For example, the radio 230 has a connection conforming to a specific low-power radio conforming to the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, the IEEE 802.11 standard, and ARIB (Association of Radio Industries and Businesses).

  The distribution board 12 supplies power to all home appliances (for example, the network home appliances 11a, etc.) via the power line 210, and can measure the total power consumption in the home. In addition, the distribution board 12 is connected to the energy controller 10 via a wire 220, but the distribution board 12 may be connected to the energy controller 10 via a radio 230.

  The power generation device 13 and the power storage device 14 are connected to the energy controller 10 via a wire 220. The cable 220 has, for example, a connection such as Ethernet (registered trademark) or USB (Universal Serial Bus). A case where the power generation device 13 and the power storage device 14 are connected to the energy controller 10 by radio 230 is also conceivable.

  The power generation device 13 represents, for example, a device that generates power using photovoltaic power generation (Photovoltaic), wind power generation, or a fuel cell. The power storage device 14 is, for example, a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery. It is possible to store surplus power generated by the power generation device 13 in the power storage device 14. In the future, in the present invention, a general term for electric power generated by the power generation device 13 and accumulated by the power storage device 14 will be referred to as private power generation. This is different from the power purchased from the commercial power grid of the power company.

  The network home appliances 11a, 11b, and 11c are wireless terminal devices that repeat a start state that is a communicable state and a sleep state that is a state incapable of communication. Here, although the network home appliances are three network home appliances 11a, 11b, and 11c, the number of network home appliances is not limited to three and may be any number.

  When the network home appliances 11a, 11b, and 11c are in the activated state, the energy controller 10 transmits a beacon signal that is a signal for establishing data transmission / reception to the network home appliances 11a, 11b, and 11c. The data is transmitted and received between 11b and 11c.

  In addition, the energy controller 10 can grasp the total power consumption from the distribution board 12, the power generation amount from the power generation device 13, and the power storage amount from the power storage device 14 via the wire 220. It is.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the energy controller 10 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  The antenna 21 is an antenna that performs wireless communication. As shown in the figure, the energy controller 10 includes a wireless communication IF 22, a power saving control unit 23, a device characteristic storage unit 24, a power management storage unit 25, and a peak suppression unit 26.

  The wireless communication IF 22 sends a beacon signal including information indicating the transmission cycle of the beacon signal to the network home appliances 11a, 11b, 11c, in order to activate the network home appliances 11a, 11b, and 11c at a cycle corresponding to the transmission cycle of the beacon signal. To 11c. Specifically, the wireless communication IF 22 has a data modulation and demodulation function, a media access control function, a frame generation function, and the like.

  As an example of the wireless communication IF 22, there are functions of a physical layer (Physical Layer) and a MAC layer (Media Access Control Layer) compliant with the IEEE 802.15.4 standard. Details of the wireless communication IF 22 will be described later with reference to FIG. The wireless communication IF 22 is included in the “communication interface unit” recited in the claims.

  The peak suppression unit 26 has a function of performing control such as peak cut and a function of inquiring and collecting the power consumption of each network home appliance in turn from each network home appliance (polling). Details of the peak suppression unit 26 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The device characteristic storage unit 24 is a memory that stores a home appliance characteristic table 24a. The home appliance characteristic table 24a is a table that holds power characteristics such as the rate of change of the power consumption value of each network home appliance that is currently connected. Details of the home appliance characteristic table 24a will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The power management storage unit 25 is a memory that stores a power management table 25a. The power management table 25a is a table including information such as the generated power value of the power generation device 13, the accumulated power value of the power storage device 14, and the total power consumption value of the power consuming devices, and the information is grasped and updated in real time. Details of the power management table 25a will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The power saving control unit 23 has a function for realizing power saving. Specifically, the power saving control unit 23 has a function of changing a beacon period by calculating a beacon period that is a transmission period for transmitting a beacon signal based on information in the home appliance characteristic table 24a and the power management table 25a. .

  Specifically, the power saving control unit 23 has a differential power value that is a value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption value of the power consuming devices from the suppliable power value to the power consuming devices including the network home appliances 11a, 11b, and 11c. The beacon period is determined so that the larger the value, the longer the beacon period. Details of the power saving control unit 23 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a detailed functional configuration of the wireless communication IF 22 shown in FIG. 3, the same components as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in the figure, the wireless communication IF 22 includes a wireless transmission unit 31, a wireless reception unit 32, a beacon generation unit 33, a sleep management unit 34, a memory 35, an interface 36, a transmission buffer 37, and a reception buffer 38.

  The transmission buffer 37 has a function of temporarily buffering data before transmission such as a beacon signal.

  The wireless transmission unit 31 has a function of extracting data such as a beacon signal from the transmission buffer 37, modulating the data signal, and transmitting data such as a beacon signal at an appropriate timing based on media access control.

  The reception buffer 38 has a function of temporarily buffering data after reception.

  The wireless reception unit 32 has a function of demodulating the received data signal and transferring the data to the reception buffer 38.

  The memory 35 stores information such as a beacon period, an active period, and an inactive period. Here, the beacon signal transmitted by the wireless transmission unit 31 includes information such as a beacon period, an active period, and an inactive period stored in the memory 35.

  The beacon generator 33 has a function of generating a beacon frame. Specifically, the beacon generation unit 33 generates a beacon frame that is a beacon signal based on the beacon period time stored in the memory 35 and stores the beacon frame in the transmission buffer 37.

  The sleep management unit 34 has a function of discriminating a sleep state according to information such as an inactive period stored in the memory 35 and managing whether to set the wireless communication IF 22 to a sleep state or an activation state. Have.

  The interface 36 has a function of connecting the wireless communication IF 22 to the peak suppressing unit 26, the power saving control unit 23, and the device characteristic storage unit 24.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a memory structure of the home appliance characteristic table 24a illustrated in FIG. Information such as “product name (model number)”, “device address”, “maximum power consumption (W)”, and “maximum change rate (W / sec)” is stored in the home appliance characteristic table 24a.

  The product name (model number) indicates the type and product number of a network home appliance that is a home appliance.

  The device address is a unique ID that uniquely identifies each home appliance. For example, there are a MAC address and a 16-bit short address defined in IEEE802.15.4.

  The maximum power consumption indicates the maximum power consumption consumed by each home appliance.

The maximum rate of change indicates the rate of change in power consumption of each home appliance. For example, the kettle in FIG. 4 has a maximum power consumption of 800 watts. If it reaches 800 Watts after 2 seconds after turning on the water pot,
Maximum rate of change (W / sec) = 800 (W) / 2 (sec) = 400 (W / sec)
It becomes. That is, the maximum rate of change indicates the rate of increase in power consumption per unit time. When this value is large, the power consumption increases rapidly.

  In the home appliance characteristic table 24a, the above information is added each time a home appliance is connected to the energy controller 10.

  Further, the home appliance characteristic table 24a can be held in advance by the energy controller 10, or can be created and updated while learning the power consumption and the rate of change of each home appliance.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the memory structure of the power management table 25a shown in FIG. The power management table 25a stores information such as “date”, “time”, “in-house power supply capacity value”, “total power consumption value”, and the like.

  The date and time indicate the date and time when the power management table 25a is updated. It is assumed that the power management table 25a is periodically updated and an updated value is added.

  The generated power value of the private power supply capability value is information on the power generated by the power generation device 13. The stored power value of the private power supply capability value is power information stored in the power storage device 14. Here, the private power generation supply capacity is electric power other than that purchased from the commercial power grid of the electric power company, is electric power generated at home or in the vicinity thereof, and indicates the amount of electric power that can be used at present.

  The total power consumption value is information obtained from the distribution board 12 and is a total sum of power consumed by a plurality of devices such as home appliances simultaneously used.

  In the power management table 25a, the values of all these items are updated as needed.

  Other examples of the items shown in FIG. 5 include a distribution board supply capacity value and an electricity rate fluctuation boundary value. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a memory structure of a power management table 25b, which is another example of the power management table. The power management table 25b stores information such as “date”, “time”, “electricity rate fluctuation boundary value”, “distribution panel supply capacity value”, and “total power consumption value”.

  The date and time indicate the date and time when the power management table 25b is updated. It is assumed that the power management table 25b is periodically updated and an updated value is added.

  The distribution board supply capacity value is a limit value at which the breaker of the distribution board 12 cuts off the power supply. That is, the distribution board supply capacity value is a value indicating the power value that can be supplied by the distribution board 12.

  The electricity price fluctuation boundary value is a boundary value at which the electricity price per unit amount changes. That is, the electricity price fluctuation boundary value is a contract power value with a power company at the boundary where the electricity price increases.

  The total power consumption value is the total power consumption value of the power consuming device, as in the power management table 25a of FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed functional configuration of the power saving control unit 23 illustrated in FIG. 2.

  As shown in the figure, the power saving control unit 23 includes a power difference calculation unit 46 and a beacon period calculation unit 47.

  The power difference calculation unit 46 can supply the latest private power generation supply capability value (the generated power value of the power generation device 13 + the accumulated power value of the power storage device 14) as a suppliable power value from the power management table 25a shown in FIG. It has a function of acquiring a power value and a total power consumption value and calculating a differential power value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption value from the suppliable power value.

  For example, in the case of FIG. 5, the private power supply capacity value is 5000 W (3010 W + 1990 W), and the total power consumption value is 200 W, so the differential power value is 4800 W. This means that the remaining 4800 W can be used up to the private power generation supply capacity value. If it exceeds 4800W, it will be necessary to buy electric power from an electric power company. That is, the differential power value means power that can be used in private power generation in the future.

  When the power management table is the power management table 25b of FIG. 14, the power difference calculation unit 46 acquires the electricity price fluctuation boundary value and the total power consumption value, and calculates the total power consumption value from the electricity price fluctuation boundary value. It is also possible to calculate a difference power value obtained by subtracting. This differential power value means the power that can be used before the electricity price fluctuates in the future.

  As another example when the power management table is the power management table 25b of FIG. 14, the power difference calculation unit 46 acquires the distribution board supply capability value and the total power consumption value, and supplies the distribution board. It is also possible to calculate a differential power value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption value from the capability value. This differential power value means the power that can be supplied by the distribution board 12 in the future, and exceeding this will cause the electric breaker (breaker) to fall.

  The beacon period calculation unit 47 is a value obtained by using the change rate of the total power consumption value calculated based on the change rate of the power consumption value of the power consuming device, and subtracts the total power consumption value from the suppliable power value. It has a function of calculating a value obtained by dividing the difference power value as a beacon period.

  Specifically, the beacon period calculation unit 47 uses the maximum change rate among the power consumption values of all the power consumption devices as the change rate of the total power consumption value, and calculates the difference power value as shown in FIG. The beacon period is calculated by dividing by the maximum rate of change of the characteristic table 24a. That is, the maximum change rate of the home appliance characteristic table 24a is selected from among the stored home appliances.

  In the case of FIG. 4, 800 W / sec of the microwave oven is the maximum maximum rate of change compared to other devices. Here, the beacon calculation method is as follows.

    Beacon period = difference power value / rate of change (Formula 1)

  For example, when the differential power value is 4800 W and the change rate is 800 W / sec, the beacon period is 6 sec (= 4800/800). The beacon period calculation unit 47 stores the calculated beacon period in the memory 35 of the wireless communication IF 22. As described above, it is possible to dynamically change the beacon period of the wireless network.

  The calculated beacon period time is a time when there is another beacon transmission opportunity until the remaining difference power value considering the power change rate is used up.

  As a method of calculating the rate of change of the total power consumption value, not only the maximum value of the maximum rate of change in the home appliance characteristic table 24a but also the sum of the maximum rate of change from the maximum value to two units can be used. . For example, in FIG. 4, a microwave oven and a kettle pot are selected, and the sum is 1200 (w / sec) (= 800 + 400). This means the rate of change in power consumption that can occur when the microwave oven and the kettle pot move simultaneously. If the beacon period in this case is calculated, the beacon period is 4 sec (= 4800/1200).

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a detailed functional configuration of the peak suppression unit 26 shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the peak suppression unit 26 includes a visualization control unit 51, a power visualization storage unit 52, a threshold monitoring unit 53, and a peak cut control unit 54.

  The visualization control unit 51 has a function of inquiring and acquiring power consumption information of each device of the network home appliances 11 a to 11 c connected to the energy controller 10. As an inquiry method, the visualization control unit 51 makes a power consumption inquiry to the network home appliance and receives a response of the power consumption information from the network home appliance. There is a polling method in which the network home appliances 11a to 11c are connected in order.

  The power visualization storage unit 52 is a storage unit that stores a power visualization table 52 a including power consumption for each network home appliance acquired by the visualization control unit 51. Details of the power visualization table 52a will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The threshold monitoring unit 53 has a function of acquiring the total power consumption value from the power management table 25a and monitoring whether or not the total power consumption value reaches the designated peak suppression threshold. When the total power consumption value exceeds the peak suppression threshold, peak cut is executed.

  The peak cut control unit 54 has a function of performing peak cut. Peak cut is the total power consumption by, for example, turning off the power of household appliances such as lighting and television, changing the set temperature of the air conditioner, changing the high wind mode of the air conditioner to the power saving mode, reducing the illumination intensity of the lighting, etc. The purpose is to suppress. The peak cut control unit 54 refers to the power visualization table 52a to select and execute a device that performs peak suppression.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a memory structure of the power visualization table 52a illustrated in FIG. The power visualization table 52a stores information such as “product name (model number)”, “device address”, “current power consumption (W)”, and “peak suppression information”.

  The product name (model number) and device address are the same as the product name (model number) and device address in the home appliance characteristic table 24a shown in FIG.

  The current power consumption is the power consumption of each network home appliance collected by the visualization control unit 51 by polling.

  The peak suppression information includes whether peak suppression is possible and the type of peak suppression. “Availability” of peak suppression means a device capable of peak suppression, and “Absence” of peak suppression means a device that cannot suppress a peak. The type of peak suppression means means for performing peak suppression.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the network home appliances 11a, 11b, and 11c according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 9, the same components as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in the figure, each of the network home appliances 11a, 11b, and 11c includes a wireless communication IF 61 and a peak suppression unit 62.

  The wireless communication IF 61 has data modulation and demodulation functions, media access control functions, frame generation functions, and the like. As an example of the wireless communication IF 61, there is a function of a physical layer (Physical Layer) and a MAC layer (Media Access Control Layer) of IEEE802.15.4. Details of the wireless communication IF 61 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The peak suppression unit 62 has a function of returning the current power consumption in response to an inquiry request for power consumption information by the visualization control unit 51 of the energy controller 10. Further, the peak suppression unit 62 has a function of executing a peak cut operation such as turning off the power or changing the room temperature in accordance with a peak cut execution command from the peak cut control unit 54 of the energy controller 10.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a detailed functional configuration of the wireless communication IF 61 in FIG. In FIG. 10, the same components as those of the wireless communication IF 22 shown in FIG.

  As shown in the figure, the wireless communication IF 61 includes a wireless transmission unit 31, a wireless reception unit 32, a memory 35, an interface 36, a transmission buffer 37, and a reception buffer 38, which are the same components as the components included in the wireless communication IF 22. In addition, a beacon analysis unit 65 and a sleep management unit 66 are provided.

  The beacon analysis unit 65 has a function of receiving and analyzing a beacon frame transmitted from the energy controller 10. Specifically, the beacon analysis unit 65 analyzes the presence / absence of Data Pending indicated in the beacon frame. The beacon analysis unit 65 generates a data request frame and transmits it to the energy controller 10 when Pending Data addressed to the own station is included.

  The sleep management unit 66 checks the length of the active period and the transmission time of the next beacon frame from the beacon frame analysis result of the beacon analysis unit 65, and manages the sleep state and the activation state.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the beacon period changing method by the power saving control unit 23 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  As shown in the figure, first, the power difference calculation unit 46 of the power saving control unit 23 calculates a difference power value between a power value that can be supplied to the power consuming device and the total power consumption value of the power consuming device ( S801).

  Thereafter, the beacon period calculation unit 47 acquires the maximum value of the maximum change rate as the change rate of the total power consumption value of the power consuming equipment from the home appliance characteristic table 24a (S802).

  Thereafter, the beacon period calculation unit 47 calculates the beacon period by dividing the differential power value by the maximum value of the maximum change rate based on the above-described equation 1 (S803).

  Thereafter, the beacon period calculation unit 47 changes the beacon period by setting and updating the calculated beacon period in the memory 35 of the wireless communication IF 22 (S804).

  As described above, the power saving control unit 23 sets the beacon period so that the beacon period becomes longer as the difference power value between the power supplyable power value to the power consumption apparatus and the total power consumption value of the power consumption apparatus increases. To decide.

  And wireless communication IF22 transmits the beacon signal containing the information etc. which show a beacon period to network household appliances 11a-11c based on a beacon period (S805). Thereby, network household appliances 11a-11c switch a sleep state and a starting state so that it may be in a starting state when the next beacon signal is received based on the said beacon period.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of temporal variation of the total power consumption 1031 in the home in Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  The maximum usable power value 1032 shown in the figure is, for example, the allowable amount of distribution board breakers (distribution panel supply capacity value), the supply amount from the electric power company, the electricity price fluctuation boundary value, the solar power generation device, the wind power generation And the amount of private power generation by the fuel cell device. Here, the maximum usable power value 1032 is the private power generation supply amount.

  The peak suppression threshold 1033 is a threshold that is set to a value smaller than the maximum usable power value 1032 and is monitored by the threshold monitoring unit 53 of the peak suppression unit 26. When the total power consumption 1031 exceeds the peak suppression threshold 1033, peak control works and the total power consumption 1031 decreases.

  In FIG. 12, time T3 is compared with time T4. The total power consumption 1031 at time T3 is lower than the total power consumption 1031 at time T4. That is, the difference power value is larger at time T3 than at time T4. For this reason, according to the change method of the beacon period of Embodiment 1 of this invention, the beacon period in time T3 becomes longer than the beacon period in time T4.

  Since the difference power value is more relaxed at time T3, the beacon period can be set longer, that is, the sleep time can be set longer, and low power consumption can be expected. Conversely, since there is no room for the differential power value at time T4, the beacon cycle is set to be short, that is, the sleep time is set to be short, so that the peak suppression request can be responded instantaneously.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an operation of peak suppression by the peak suppression unit 26 in Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  As shown in the figure, first, the threshold monitoring unit 53 compares and monitors the total power consumption 1031 and the peak suppression threshold 1033 (S806).

  Here, when the total power consumption 1031 exceeds the peak suppression threshold 1033 (Yes in S806), the peak cut control unit 54 refers to the power visualization table 52a and checks whether there is a device capable of peak suppression (S807). If the total power consumption 1031 does not exceed the peak suppression threshold 1033 (No in S806), the threshold monitoring unit 53 again monitors the total power consumption 1031 and the peak suppression threshold 1033 (S806).

  If there is a device capable of peak suppression (Yes in S807), the peak cut control unit 54 selects a household appliance to be peak-suppressed and its type (S808). If there is no device capable of peak suppression (No in S807), the threshold monitoring unit 53 again compares and monitors the total power consumption 1031 and the peak suppression threshold 1033 (S806).

  Thereafter, the peak cut control unit 54 performs peak cut by remotely operating the home appliance (S809).

  According to the first embodiment, the beacon period is calculated in consideration of the change rate characteristic of the power consumption of the connected home appliances and the difference power value between the private power generation supply amount and the total power consumption.

  Normally, the energy controller 10 needs to transmit a peak cut execution control command to the network home appliances 11a to 11c before the differential power value is used up. In order to transmit the control command, the energy controller 10 needs to transmit a beacon to which data pending is added. That is, as in the first embodiment, calculating the beacon period in consideration of the difference power value and the rate of change in power consumption of the home appliance means that for the energy controller 10, the beacon transmission period before the difference power value is used up. Means that will definitely come. Thus, the beacon period is set so that there is no delay in peak cut command control. Further, when the difference power value is large, the beacon cycle is set to be long, so that low power consumption can be realized.

  That is, the energy controller 10 includes a beacon signal including information indicating a beacon period that is determined to be longer as the difference power value between the suppliable power value to the power consuming device and the total power consumption value of the power consuming device is larger. Is transmitted to the network home appliances 11a to 11c which are wireless terminal devices. That is, the beacon period is calculated based on the remaining usable power information. As a result, peak suppression for controlling the total power consumption value so as not to exceed the suppliable power value is controlled without delay, and the beacon period is set to be long when the differential power value is large. And if a beacon period is set long, a radio | wireless terminal apparatus can maintain a sleep state for a long time.

  Further, the energy controller 10 determines the beacon period so that the beacon period becomes longer as the difference power value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption value from the sum of the generated power value and the accumulated power value is larger. In other words, the power value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption from the power generated and stored at home or in the area, that is, the remaining power information that can be used for self-power generation and self-storage without purchasing power from the commercial power system of the power company. Based on this, a beacon period is calculated. As a result, peak suppression for controlling the total power consumption value so that it does not exceed the sum of the current generated power value and the stored power value is controlled without delay. In addition, when the difference power value is large, the beacon period is set to be long.

  Moreover, the energy controller 10 determines a beacon period so that a beacon period becomes long, so that the difference electric power value which deducted the total power consumption value from the electricity rate fluctuation | variation boundary value is large. That is, the beacon period is calculated based on the power value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption from the power information of the contracted electricity price fluctuation boundary value of the power company, that is, the power information available with the current contracted electricity price. As a result, peak suppression for controlling the total power consumption value so as not to exceed the current contracted electricity bill boundary value is controlled without delay, and the beacon period is set to be long when the differential power value is large.

  In addition, the energy controller 10 as the control station determines the beacon period so that the beacon period becomes longer as the difference power value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption value from the distribution board supply capacity value is larger. That is, based on the power supply power of the distribution board, for example, the power value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption from the limit value of the breaker (breaker) of the distribution board, that is, the current power information that can be supplied by the distribution board, Calculate the beacon period. As a result, peak suppression that controls the total power consumption value so that it does not exceed the current distribution board supply capacity limit value is executed without delay, and if the differential power value is large, the beacon period is set to be long. Is done.

  Further, the energy controller 10 determines the beacon period by calculating a value obtained by dividing the difference power value by the change rate of the total power consumption value calculated based on the change rate of the power consumption value as the beacon period. Thereby, the beacon period can be accurately calculated so that the total power consumption value does not exceed the suppliable power value.

  From the above, according to the energy controller 10 according to the first embodiment, it is possible to achieve both low power consumption and real-time performance of the wireless terminal device even in applications such as peak suppression without data regularity. Can do.

(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment, the beacon period is controlled by calculating the beacon period from the difference power value between the suppliable power value and the total power consumption value and the power consumption change rate characteristic of the home appliance. As a result, when the differential power value until peak suppression is large, the beacon cycle is set long to achieve low power consumption, and when the differential power value until peak suppression is small, the beacon cycle is set short to suppress peak It is possible to respond to the request of

  On the other hand, in this Embodiment 2, after calculating a beacon period, it compares with the beacon value of the beacon table to hold | maintain, and determines a beacon period. As a result, the beacon period can be dynamically changed in a system in which the beacon period is determined in several patterns as in IEEE 802.15.4.

  The network configuration in the second embodiment is the same as the network configuration in FIG. 1 of the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted here.

  FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the energy controller 10 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. Components having the same functions as those of the blocks of the energy controller 10 according to the first embodiment described in FIG. 2 are given the same numbers, and description thereof is omitted here.

  As shown in the figure, the energy controller 10 according to the second embodiment includes a wireless communication IF 22, a device characteristic storage unit 24, and a power management storage unit 25 that are the same components as the components included in the energy controller 10 according to the first embodiment. In addition to the peak suppression unit 26, a power saving control unit 71 is provided.

  The power saving control unit 71 has a function for realizing power saving. Specifically, the power saving control unit 71 includes the home appliance characteristic table 24a stored in the device characteristic storage unit 24, the power management table 25a stored in the power management storage unit 25, and the power saving control unit 71 in the memory. Based on the information stored in the beacon table 72a, it has a function of calculating a beacon period and changing the beacon period.

  FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed functional configuration of the power saving control unit 71 illustrated in FIG. 15. Components having the same functions as those of the blocks included in the power saving control unit 23 described in FIG. 6 are assigned the same numbers, and description thereof is omitted here.

  As shown in the figure, the power saving control unit 71 includes a transmission cycle pattern storage unit 72 in addition to the power difference calculation unit 46 and the beacon cycle calculation unit 47 that are the same components as the components included in the power saving control unit 23. And a beacon period selector 73.

  The transmission cycle pattern storage unit 72 stores a beacon table 72a including beacon cycle patterns that can be set in the wireless network system.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a memory structure of the beacon table 72a. In FIG. 17, the beacon table 72a is an example of holding eight types of beacon periods. The shortest beacon period is 15 msec, and the longest beacon period is 120,000 msec (= 2 min).

  Returning to FIG. 16, the beacon period selecting unit 73 has a function of selecting the beacon period by comparing the beacon period calculated by the beacon period calculating unit 47 with the beacon pattern of the beacon table 72 a. The beacon period calculation unit 47 calculates a beacon period such that the beacon period becomes longer as the difference power value between the suppliable power value and the total power consumption value is larger.

  As an example in which the beacon period selection unit 73 selects a beacon period, when a beacon period of 6 sec is calculated by the beacon period calculation unit 47 as in the example of the first embodiment, the calculated beacon period (6 sec = 6000 msec) or less. In addition, there is a method of selecting the longest value in the beacon pattern as the beacon period. In the beacon table 72a of FIG. 17, 5000 msec (= 5 sec) of pattern 5 is selected as the beacon period.

  The beacon period selection unit 73 stores the selected beacon period in the memory 35 of the wireless communication IF 22. As described above, it is possible to dynamically change the beacon period of the wireless network among the determined types.

  As described above, the power saving control unit 71 calculates the beacon period such that the beacon period becomes longer as the difference power value is larger. From the beacon pattern, the power saving control unit 71 is within the calculated beacon period and in the beacon pattern. Select the longest beacon period.

  Note that the functional blocks of the network home appliances 11a, 11b, and 11c in the second embodiment are the same as those in FIG. 9 of the first embodiment, and a description thereof is omitted here.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the operation of the beacon period changing method by the power saving control unit 71 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In this process, the processes from S801 to S803 and S804 to S805 in FIG. 18 are the same as the processes from S801 to S803 and S804 to S805 described in FIG. Is omitted.

  As shown in the figure, first, the power difference calculation unit 46 of the power saving control unit 71 calculates a difference power value between the suppliable power value and the total power consumption value (S801). Thereafter, the beacon period calculation unit 47 acquires the maximum value of the maximum change rate as the change rate of the total power consumption value of the power consuming equipment from the home appliance characteristic table 24a (S802). Thereafter, the beacon period calculation unit 47 calculates a beacon period based on the above formula 1 (S803).

  Thereafter, the beacon cycle selecting unit 73 refers to the beacon table 72a (S811), and selects a value that is shorter than the beacon cycle calculated by the beacon cycle calculating unit 47 and has the longest beacon cycle from the beacon patterns of the beacon table 72a. Select (S812).

  Thereafter, the beacon period selecting unit 73 changes the beacon period by updating the selected beacon period in the memory 35 of the wireless communication IF 22 (S804). Thereafter, based on the beacon period, the wireless communication IF 22 transmits a beacon signal including information indicating the beacon period to the network home appliances 11a to 11c (S805).

  According to the second embodiment, taking into account the rate of change characteristic of the power consumption of connected home appliances and the difference power value between the suppliable power value and the total power consumption value, the larger the difference power value, the longer. Such a beacon period is calculated. Furthermore, when a beacon period pattern is defined in the wireless network system, the calculated beacon period is compared with the determined beacon period pattern, and the calculated beacon period is equal to or less than the calculated beacon period. The longest beacon period in the pattern is selected. As a result, even in a wireless network system in which several types of beacon periods are defined as in the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, when the differential power value is large, the beacon period is set to be long, and low power consumption can be realized. When the power value is small, the beacon period is set short, and it becomes possible to immediately respond to a request for peak suppression.

(Embodiment 3)
In the first embodiment, the beacon period is calculated by calculating the beacon period based on the difference power value between the suppliable power value and the total power consumption value and the power consumption change rate characteristic of the home appliance. As a result, when the differential power value until peak suppression is large, the beacon cycle is set long to achieve low power consumption, and when the differential power value until peak suppression is small, the beacon cycle is set short to suppress peak It is possible to respond to the request of

  On the other hand, in the third embodiment, after calculating the beacon period, the allowable delay time of the application used in the wireless network system is compared to determine the beacon period. As a result, setting the beacon period beyond the allowable delay time of the application can be prevented, and the allowable time of the application can be satisfied.

  The network configuration in the third embodiment is the same as the network configuration in FIG. 1 of the first embodiment, and the description is omitted here.

  FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the energy controller 10 according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. Components having the same functions as those of the blocks of the energy controller 10 according to the first embodiment described in FIG. 2 are given the same numbers, and description thereof is omitted here.

  As shown in the figure, the energy controller 10 according to the third embodiment includes a wireless communication IF 22, a device characteristic storage unit 24, and a power management storage unit 25 that are the same components as the components included in the energy controller 10 according to the first embodiment. In addition to the peak suppression unit 26, a power saving control unit 81 is provided.

  The power saving control unit 81 has a function for realizing power saving. Specifically, the power saving control unit 81 includes the home appliance characteristic table 24a stored in the device characteristic storage unit 24, the power management table 25a stored in the power management storage unit 25, and the power saving control unit 81 in the memory. Based on the information stored in the application allowable delay table 82a, the beacon period is calculated and the beacon period is changed.

  20 is a block diagram showing a detailed functional mechanism of the power saving control unit 81 shown in FIG. Components having the same functions as those of the blocks included in the power saving control unit 23 described in FIG. 6 are assigned the same numbers, and description thereof is omitted here.

  As shown in the figure, the power saving control unit 81 includes an application allowable delay storage unit 82 in addition to the power difference calculation unit 46 and the beacon period calculation unit 47 that are the same components as the components included in the power saving control unit 23. And a beacon period comparison unit 83.

  The application allowable delay storage unit 82 stores an application allowable delay table 82a including the allowable delay times of a plurality of applications used in the wireless network system. That is, the application allowable delay table 82a stores an allowable delay time that is an allowable delay time when executing a predetermined application.

  FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of a memory structure of the application allowable delay table 82a. FIG. 21 shows an example in which the allowable delay times of two types of applications “visualization of power consumption” and “peak suppression” are held. The allowable delay time for visualizing power consumption is 5000 msec, and the allowable delay time for peak suppression is 500 msec.

  Returning to FIG. 20, the beacon period comparison unit 83 has a function of comparing the beacon period calculated by the beacon period calculation unit 47 with the allowable delay time of the application allowable delay table 82a to determine the beacon period. The beacon period calculation unit 47 calculates a beacon period such that the beacon period becomes longer as the difference power value between the suppliable power value and the total power consumption value is larger.

  For example, as an example in which the beacon period comparison unit 83 determines the beacon period, a method of comparing the shortest allowable delay time of the application allowable delay table 82a with the calculated beacon period and determining the shorter value as the beacon period There is. In the application allowable delay table 82a of FIG. 21, the allowable delay time for peak suppression is 500 msec, which is the shortest. Similarly to the example of the first embodiment, when the beacon period calculation unit 47 calculates a beacon period of 6 sec, the calculated beacon period (6 sec) is compared with an allowable delay time of 500 msec for peak suppression, and the shorter one is calculated. 500 msec is determined as the beacon period.

  The beacon period comparison unit 83 stores the determined beacon period in the memory 35 of the wireless communication IF 22. As described above, the beacon period is determined within a range that satisfies the allowable delay time of a plurality of applications in the wireless network, and the beacon period is dynamically changed.

  As described above, the power saving control unit 81 calculates the beacon period such that the beacon period becomes longer as the difference power value is larger, and the calculated beacon period is the allowable delay stored in the application allowable delay storage unit 82. If it is longer than the shortest allowable delay time, the shortest allowable delay time is determined as the beacon period. If the calculated beacon period is equal to or shorter than the shortest allowable delay time, the calculated beacon The period is determined as a beacon period to be transmitted by being included in the beacon signal.

  Note that the functional blocks of the network home appliances 11a, 11b, and 11c in the third embodiment are the same as those in FIG. 9 of the first embodiment, and a description thereof is omitted here.

  FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the beacon period changing method by the power saving control unit 81 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In this process, the processes from S801 to S803 and S804 to S805 in FIG. 22 are the same as the processes from S801 to S803 and S804 to S805 described in FIG. Is omitted.

  As shown in the figure, first, the power difference calculation unit 46 of the power saving control unit 81 calculates a difference power value between the suppliable power value and the total power consumption value (S801). Thereafter, the beacon period calculation unit 47 acquires the maximum value of the maximum change rate as the change rate of the total power consumption value of the power consuming equipment from the home appliance characteristic table 24a (S802). Thereafter, the beacon period calculation unit 47 calculates a beacon period based on the above formula 1 (S803).

  Thereafter, the beacon period comparison unit 83 acquires the shortest allowable delay time of the application from the application allowable delay table 82a (S815). Thereafter, the beacon period comparison unit 83 compares the shortest allowable delay time with the calculated beacon period calculated by the beacon period calculation unit 47 (S816).

  If the beacon period comparison unit 83 determines that the calculated beacon period is shorter than the shortest allowable delay time (Yes in S816), the beacon period to be determined is set as the value of the calculated beacon period (S817).

  Conversely, when the beacon period comparison unit 83 determines that the shortest allowable delay time is shorter than the calculated beacon period (No in S816), the beacon period to be determined is set as the value of the shortest allowable delay time (S818).

  Thereafter, the beacon period comparison unit 83 changes the beacon period by updating the determined beacon period in the memory 35 of the wireless communication IF 22 (S804). Thereafter, based on the beacon period, the wireless communication IF 22 transmits a beacon signal including information indicating the beacon period to the network home appliances 11a to 11c (S805).

  According to the third embodiment, taking into account the rate of change characteristics of the power consumption of the connected home appliances and the difference power value between the suppliable power value and the total power consumption value, the difference power value increases as the difference power value increases. Such a beacon period is calculated. Furthermore, the allowable delay time required by the application of the wireless network system is compared with the calculated beacon period, and if the calculated beacon period is longer than the minimum allowable delay time among the allowable delay times, the shortest value Is determined as a beacon period. As a result, in a communication network system in which multiple applications with different allowable delay times operate, a beacon period longer than the allowable delay time of the application is not set. Therefore, when the differential power value is large, the beacon is set so as to satisfy the allowable delay time of the application. The period is set, power consumption can be reduced, and when the difference power value is small, the beacon period is set short, and the request for peak suppression can be dealt with immediately.

(Embodiment 4)
In the first embodiment, the beacon period is calculated by calculating the beacon period based on the difference power value between the suppliable power value and the total power consumption value and the power consumption change rate characteristic of the home appliance. As a result, when the differential power value until peak suppression is large, the beacon cycle is set long to achieve low power consumption, and when the differential power value until peak suppression is small, the beacon cycle is set short to suppress peak It is possible to respond to the request of

  Moreover, in the said Embodiment 2, after calculating a beacon period, it compared with the beacon value of the beacon table to hold | maintain, and determined the beacon period. As a result, the beacon period can be dynamically changed in a system in which the beacon period is determined in several patterns as in IEEE 802.15.4.

  In the third embodiment, after calculating the beacon period, the calculated beacon period is compared with the allowable delay time of the application used in the wireless network system to determine the beacon period. As a result, setting the beacon period beyond the allowable delay time of the application can be prevented, and the allowable time of the application can be satisfied.

  On the other hand, in the fourth embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the second embodiment, and the third embodiment, the activation state and the sleep state of the radio control station and the wireless terminal device are set without using the beacon frame. Using the data to be controlled (hereinafter referred to as awake data), the transmission cycle of the awake data is controlled. The awake data corresponds to an “awake signal” described in the claims.

  As a result, even in a wireless network system that does not use a beacon frame, by using awake data, if the differential power value until peak suppression is large, the transmission cycle of the awake data is set long, and low power consumption is achieved. When the difference power value until the peak suppression is realized, the awake data transmission cycle is set short, and the peak suppression request can be instantly responded.

  The network configuration in the fourth embodiment is the same as the network configuration in FIG. 1 of the first embodiment, and the description is omitted here.

  In the fourth embodiment, a beacon frame is not used. For this reason, there is no concept of the active period 1007 and the non-active period 1008 as shown in FIG. 44, and as shown in FIG. 23, all times are access periods. The access period is a period in which the radio control station and the radio terminal device communicate with each other using access control such as CSMA. Here, FIG. 23 is a diagram showing the relationship between the access period and time in the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 24 shows an example of a sequence in which the energy controller 10 having the function of the wireless control station uses the awake data instead of the beacon frame in the fourth embodiment to perform data communication with the network home appliance 11a having the function of the wireless terminal device. It is a flowchart which shows.

  The awake data includes time information until the next awake data transmission, and the wireless terminal device always receives the awake data. In the figure, the same numbers are assigned to steps for performing the same processes as those shown in FIG.

  First, as shown in the figure, when data to be transmitted to the network home appliance 11a is generated (S1010), the energy controller 10 buffers the data.

  Then, the energy controller 10 generates an awake frame (S1100) based on the time information until the next awake data transmission included in the previously transmitted awake data, and transmits the awake data (S1101).

  The network home appliance 11a changes from the sleep state to the activated state at the timing of receiving the awake data, and receives the awake data (S1101).

  Then, the network home appliance 11a analyzes the awake data (S1102) and confirms the transmission time of the next awake data.

  Thereafter, the network home appliance 11a transmits a data request to check whether there is data buffered in the energy controller 10 (S1013).

  If the data addressed to the network home appliance 11a is buffered, the energy controller 10 transmits the data to the network home appliance 11a (S1014).

  And the network household appliance 11a returns ACK which is an arrival confirmation signal to the energy controller 10 (S1015).

  On the other hand, after receiving the data request (S1013), if there is no buffer link data addressed to the network home appliance 11a, the energy controller 10 notifies the network home appliance 11a of an ACK to that effect.

  As described above, the network home appliance 11a changes from the sleep state to the activated state at the timing of receiving periodically transmitted awake data, inquires the energy controller 10 for the data, receives the data, and again receives the next awake. The sleep state is entered until the data reception timing. On the other hand, if there is no data to be received, the network home appliance 11a immediately enters the sleep state until the next awake data reception timing. With such an operation, it is possible to reduce the power consumption of the network home appliance 11a.

  FIG. 25 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the energy controller 10 according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. Components having the same functions as those of the blocks of the energy controller 10 according to the first embodiment described in FIG. 2 are given the same numbers, and description thereof is omitted here.

  As shown in the figure, the energy controller 10 according to the fourth embodiment includes a device characteristic storage unit 24, a power management storage unit 25, and a peak suppression unit that are the same components as the components included in the energy controller 10 according to the first embodiment. 26, a power saving control unit 91 and a wireless communication IF 92 are provided.

  The wireless communication IF 92 transmits awake data including information indicating the transmission cycle of the awake data to the network home appliances 11a to 11c in order to activate the network home appliances 11a to 11c at a cycle corresponding to the transmission cycle of the beacon signal. . Specifically, the wireless communication IF 92 has functions such as data modulation and demodulation functions, media access control, and frame generation.

  As an example of the wireless communication IF 92, there is a function of a physical layer (Physical Layer) and a MAC layer (Media Access Control Layer) of IEEE 802.15.4. Details of the wireless communication IF 92 will be described later with reference to FIG. The wireless communication IF 92 is included in the “communication interface unit” recited in the claims.

  The power saving control unit 91 has a function for realizing power saving. Specifically, the power saving control unit 91 transmits awake data based on information in the home appliance characteristic table 24a stored in the device characteristic storage unit 24 and the power management table 25a stored in the power management storage unit 25. It has a function of calculating a period and generating awake data. Details of the power saving control unit 91 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 26 is a block diagram showing a detailed functional configuration of the wireless communication IF 92 shown in FIG. 26, the same components as those in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in the figure, the difference between the components of the wireless communication IF 92 shown in FIG. 26 and the components of the wireless communication IF 22 shown in FIG. 3 is that the beacon generator 33 is not included in the wireless communication IF 92. is there.

  FIG. 27 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed functional configuration of the power saving control unit 91 illustrated in FIG. 25. Components having the same functions as those of the blocks of the power saving control unit 23 described in FIG. 6 are assigned the same numbers, and description thereof is omitted here.

  As shown in the figure, the power saving control unit 91 includes an awake data generation unit 93 in addition to the power difference calculation unit 46 that is the same component as the components included in the power saving control unit 23.

  The awake data generation unit 93 divides the difference power value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption value from the supplyable power value by the change rate of the total power consumption value calculated based on the change rate of the power consumption value of the power consuming device. It has a function of calculating a value as a transmission period of awake data.

  Specifically, the awake data generation unit 93 sets the maximum change rate among the power consumption values of all the power consumption devices as the change rate of the total power consumption value, and the difference power value acquired by the power difference calculation unit 46 And the transmission rate of the awake data is calculated based on the maximum change rate of the home appliance characteristic table 24a shown in FIG. That is, the maximum change rate of the home appliance characteristic table 24a is selected from among the stored home appliances.

  In the case of FIG. 4, 800 W / sec of the microwave oven is the maximum maximum rate of change compared to other devices. Here, the calculation method of the transmission period of the awake data is as follows.

    Awake data transmission cycle = difference power value / rate of change (Formula 2)

  For example, when the differential power value is 4800 W and the change rate is 800 W / sec, the awake data transmission cycle is 6 sec (= 4800/800). The awake data generation unit 93 stores the calculated awake data transmission cycle in the memory 35 of the wireless communication IF 92.

  As described above, it is possible to dynamically change the transmission cycle of the awake data in the wireless network.

  As a method of calculating the rate of change of the total power consumption value, not only the maximum value of the maximum rate of change in the home appliance characteristic table 24a but also the sum of the maximum rate of change from the maximum value up to three units can be used. . For example, in FIG. 4, a microwave oven, a kettle pot, and an air conditioner are selected, and the sum is 1400 (w / sec) (= 800 + 400 + 200). This means the rate of change in power consumption that can occur when the microwave oven, kettle pot, and air conditioner start moving simultaneously.

  When the awake data transmission cycle in this case is calculated, the awake data transmission cycle is 3428 msec (≈4800 / 1400).

  FIG. 28 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of network home appliances 11a, 11b, and 11c according to the fourth embodiment. 28, the same components as those in FIGS. 9 and 25 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in the figure, each of the network home appliances 11a, 11b, and 11c in the fourth embodiment is a peak that is the same component as each of the network home appliances 11a, 11b, and 11c in the first embodiment. In addition to the suppression unit 62, a wireless communication IF 92 and a power saving control unit 95 are provided. Note that the wireless communication IF 92 has the same function as the wireless communication IF 92 included in the energy controller 10 shown in FIG.

  The power saving control unit 95 has a function of analyzing the awake data, and recognizes the transmission time included in the awake data for transmitting the awake data next. Further, after receiving the awake data, the power saving control unit 95 controls the memory 35 of the wireless communication IF 92 and transmits a data request to the energy controller 10. When the power saving control unit 95 determines that there is no data transmission / reception with the energy controller 10, the power saving control unit 95 controls the sleep management unit 34 of the wireless communication IF 92 to transition to the sleep state, thereby realizing low power consumption. .

  FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing an operation of a method for changing the awake data transmission cycle by the power saving control unit 91 of the energy controller 10 according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

  As shown in the figure, first, the power difference calculation unit 46 of the power saving control unit 91 calculates a difference power value between a power value that can be supplied to the power consuming device and the total power consumption value of the power consuming device ( S801).

  Thereafter, the awake data generation unit 93 acquires the maximum value of the maximum change rate from the home appliance characteristic table 24a as the change rate of the total power consumption value of the power consuming devices (S820).

  After that, the awake data generation unit 93 calculates the awake data transmission cycle by dividing the differential power value by the maximum value of the maximum change rate based on the above equation 2 (S821).

  Thereafter, the awake data generation unit 93 generates awake data based on the calculated awake data transmission cycle, and transmits the awake data (S822).

  As described above, the power saving control unit 91 increases the difference power value between the suppliable power value to the power consuming device and the total power consumption value of the power consuming device so that the awake data transmission cycle becomes longer. Determine the awake data transmission cycle.

  According to the present embodiment, low power consumption of the wireless terminal device is realized by using application data (awake data) instead of the beacon frame without using the beacon frame. Further, the awake data transmission cycle is calculated in consideration of the rate of change characteristic of the power consumption of the home appliance and the difference power value between the suppliable power value and the total power consumption value. As a result, even in a wireless network system in which a beacon frame is not used, when the differential power value is large, the awake data transmission cycle is set to be long so that low power consumption can be realized, and when the differential power value is small, awake data transmission is performed. The period is set short, and it becomes possible to respond immediately to the demand for peak suppression.

(Embodiment 5)
In the fifth embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the second embodiment, and the third embodiment, the energy controller 10 and the network home appliances 11a to 11c are not wireless communication, but are power line communication (hereinafter referred to as “Power Line Communication”). , PLC). As a result, the method for changing the beacon period is not limited to the beacon period of the wireless network system, but can be used in the beacon period of the PLC network system.

  FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network configuration according to the fifth embodiment.

  In FIG. 30, the energy controller 10 b is connected to the network home appliances 11 ab, 11 bb, 11 cb by a power line 210. In addition, the power generation device 13b and the power storage device 14b are also connected to the energy controller 10b via the power line 210. The energy controller 10b is included in the “communication device” described in the claims, and the network home appliances 11ab, 11bb, and 11cb are included in the “communication terminal device” described in the claims.

  The distribution board 12b supplies power to each device via the power line 210, and can measure the total power consumption in the house. The power generation device 13b and the power storage device 14b are connected to the energy controller 10b by a power line 210. Moreover, there exists PLC as communication using the electric wire 210. FIG.

  The power generation device 13b indicates a device that generates power using, for example, photovoltaic power generation, wind power generation, or a fuel cell. The power storage device 14b is, for example, a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery. It is possible to store surplus power produced by the power generation device 13b in the power storage device 14b.

  The network home appliances 11ab, 11bb, and 11cb are communication terminal devices that repeat an activation state in which communication is possible and a sleep state in which communication is not possible. Here, the network home appliances are three network home appliances 11ab, 11bb, and 11cb, but the number of network home appliances is not limited to three and may be any number.

  When the network home appliances 11ab to 11cb are activated, the energy controller 10b transmits a beacon signal, which is a signal for establishing transmission and reception of data, to the network home appliances 11ab to 11cb. To transmit and receive the data.

  Further, the energy controller 10b can grasp the total power consumption from the distribution board 12b, the power generation amount from the power generation device 13b, and the power storage amount from the power storage device 14b via the power line 210. Is possible.

  FIG. 31 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the energy controller 10b according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. Components having the same functions as those of the blocks of the energy controller 10 described in FIG. 2 are assigned the same numbers, and description thereof is omitted here.

  Here, the difference from the energy controller 10 shown in FIG. 2 is that the energy controller 10b according to the fifth embodiment includes a PLC communication IF 22b instead of the wireless communication IF 22.

  The PLC communication IF 22b is a PLC (power line communication) interface. The PLC communication IF 22b corresponds to a “communication interface unit” recited in the claims.

  Here, FIG. 32 shows a detailed functional block of the PLC communication IF 22b. FIG. 32 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the PLC communication IF 22b. Components having the same function as each block of the wireless communication IF 22 in the first embodiment described in FIG. 3 are assigned the same numbers, and description thereof is omitted here.

  As shown in the figure, the PLC communication IF 22b includes the beacon generation unit 33, the sleep management unit 34, the memory 35, the interface 36, the transmission buffer 37, and the reception buffer 38 that are the same as the components included in the wireless communication IF 22. In addition, a PLC transmission unit 31b and a PLC reception unit 32b are provided.

  Here, the outlet plug 21 b is a plug to be connected to the power line 210.

  The PLC transmission unit 31b has a function of extracting data such as a beacon signal from the transmission buffer 37, modulating the data signal, and transmitting data such as a beacon signal at an appropriate timing based on media access control. Here, the beacon signal transmitted by the PLC transmission unit 31b includes information such as a beacon period, an active period, and an inactive period stored in the memory 35.

  The PLC receiving unit 32 b has a function of demodulating the received data signal and transferring the data to the reception buffer 38.

  FIG. 33 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of network home appliances 11ab, 11bb, and 11cb in Embodiment 5 of the present invention. In the network home appliances 11ab to 11cb shown in FIG. 33, the same constituent elements as those of the network home appliances 11a to 11c shown in FIG.

  As shown in the figure, each of the network home appliances 11ab, 11bb, and 11cb includes a PLC communication IF 61b in addition to the peak suppressing unit 62 that is the same component as each of the network home appliances 11a, 11b, and 11c. ing.

  A detailed functional block diagram of the PLC communication IF 61b is shown in FIG. Components having the same functions as the blocks described in the wireless communication IF 61 shown in FIG. 10 and the PLC communication IF 22b shown in FIG. 32 are assigned the same numbers, and the description thereof is omitted here.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 34, the PLC communication IF 61b includes the memory 35, the interface 36, the transmission buffer 37, the reception buffer 38, the beacon analysis unit 65, and the sleep management unit 66 that are the same components as the components included in the wireless communication IF 61. And a PLC transmission unit 31b and a PLC reception unit 32b which are the same components as the components included in the PLC communication IF 22b.

  The flowchart of the operation | movement which shows the change method of the beacon period by the power saving control part 23 in Embodiment 5 of this invention is the same as that of FIG. 11 of Embodiment 1, and abbreviate | omits description. The method for changing the beacon period is also the same as in the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

  According to the fifth embodiment, the beacon period in the PLC network system is determined in consideration of the rate of change characteristic of the power consumption of the connected home appliances and the difference power value between the suppliable power value and the total power consumption value. calculate. As a result, not only in the wireless network system but also in the PLC network system, when the differential power value is large, the beacon cycle is set to be long so that low power consumption can be realized, and when the differential power value is small, the beacon cycle is It is set to be short, and it becomes possible to respond immediately to the demand for peak suppression.

(Embodiment 6)
In the first embodiment, the second embodiment, and the third embodiment, the beacon period is calculated based on the difference power value between the suppliable power value and the total power consumption value and the change rate characteristic of the power consumption of the home appliance. Alternatively, the beacon period is calculated by comparing with the beacon value of the beacon table or by comparing with the allowable delay time of the application. Here, in the wireless network systems according to the first to third embodiments, the wireless control station and the wireless terminal device communicate with each other using the same frequency channel.

  On the other hand, in the sixth embodiment, the radio control station calculates a beacon period assuming a radio network system that communicates with a radio terminal device while hopping (switching) a plurality of frequency channels (hereinafter referred to as CH). To do. The active period and inactive period are also calculated according to the number of channels. As a result, it can also be used in a wireless network system that uses a plurality of frequency channels.

  FIG. 35 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network configuration according to the sixth embodiment. 35, the same components as those in the network configuration in FIG. 1 according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  In FIG. 35, the energy controller 100 is connected to the network home appliances 110a, 110b, and 110c by radio 230. The energy controller 100 is included in the “communication device” described in the claims, and the network home appliances 110a, 110b, and 110c are included in the “communication terminal device” described in the claims.

  For example, the radio 230 has a connection conforming to a specific low power radio conforming to the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, the IEEE 802.11 standard, or the ARIB.

  The difference from the network configuration in FIG. 1 of Embodiment 1 is that a plurality of radio channels are used. For example, in FIG. 35, the energy controller 100 and the network home appliance 110a are connected by the channel 1 (CH1), and the energy controller 100 and the network home appliance 110b and the energy controller 100 and the network home appliance 110c are connected by the channel 2 (CH2). Has been.

  FIG. 36 is a diagram showing, on a time axis, how the energy controller 100 according to the sixth embodiment hops a channel (CH).

  The energy controller 100 hops from CH1 to CHn. A period of hopping from CH1 to CHn is a superframe period 2001a. The energy controller 100 communicates with the network home appliances 110a to 110c while sequentially switching the CH.

  Further, there is an active period for each CH, and the energy controller 100 always broadcasts a beacon frame 1009 at the beginning of the active period of each CH. The beacon frame 1009 includes control information related to the frame, such as the length of the active period, the length of the inactive period, and the time until the next beacon frame transmission (beacon period).

  FIG. 37 is a diagram showing the relationship of channels through which the energy controller 100 and network home appliances 110a, 110b, and 110c in the sixth embodiment communicate with each other on a time axis. In FIG. 37, it is assumed that the energy controller 100 hops from CH1 to CH2. Note that the number of hopping channels need not be limited to two, but for the sake of convenience of explanation, it is assumed to be CH1 to CH2 in FIG.

  The energy controller 100 performs communication while repeating CH1 and CH2. The superframe period 2001b in this case is the sum of the active period of CH1 and the active period of CH2.

  Next, it is assumed that the network home appliances 110a, 110b, and 110c communicate on a fixed channel without performing channel hopping.

  35 and 37, the network home appliance 110a communicates with the energy controller 100 in the CH1 active period 2003a, and the CH2 period is the inactive period 2004a. That is, the beacon period 2002a for the network home appliance 110a is the sum of the active period 2003a and the inactive period 2004a.

  Similarly, the network home appliance 110b and the network home appliance 110c communicate with the energy controller 100 in the CH2 active period 2003b, and the CH1 period becomes the inactive period 2004b. That is, the beacon period 2002b for the network home appliances 110b and 110c is the sum of the active period 2003b and the inactive period 2004b.

  That is, the time period of the inactive period 2004a for the network home appliance 110a is the time period of the active period 2003b for the network home appliances 110b and 110c.

  As described above, in the sixth embodiment, the energy controller 100 performs channel hopping, and the network home appliances 110a, 110b, and 110c are configured to communicate with the energy controller 100 through their fixed channels.

  In addition, the network home appliances 110a, 110b, and 110c can reduce the power consumption by setting the period during which the energy controller 100 is communicating with the own device in a different channel as the inactive period (for example, the inactive period 2004a and 2004b). Has been realized.

  FIG. 38 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the energy controller 100 according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention. Components having the same functions as those of the blocks of the energy controller 10 described in FIG. 2 are assigned the same numbers, and description thereof is omitted here.

  As shown in the figure, the energy controller 100 includes, in addition to the device characteristic storage unit 24, the power management storage unit 25, and the peak suppression unit 26, which are the same components as the components included in the energy controller 10, a wireless communication IF 102 and a power saving unit. A power control unit 101 is provided.

  The wireless communication IF 102 transmits a beacon signal including information indicating a beacon period, an active period, and an inactive period to the network home appliances 110a to 110c using each frequency channel. Specifically, the wireless communication IF 102 has data modulation and demodulation functions, media access control functions, frame generation functions, wireless channel switching functions, and the like.

As an example of the wireless communication IF 102, a physical layer (Physical Layer) and a MAC layer (Media Access Control) compliant with the IEEE 802.15.4 standard.
Layer) function. Details of the wireless communication IF 102 will be described later with reference to FIG. The wireless communication IF 102 is included in the “communication interface unit” recited in the claims.

  The power saving control unit 101 has a function for realizing power saving. Specifically, the power saving control unit 101 calculates a beacon period, an active period, and an inactive period based on information on the home appliance characteristic table 24a, the power management table 25a, and the number of frequency channels, and the beacon period, the active period, It has a function of changing the inactive period.

  Specifically, the power saving control unit 23 increases the beacon period as the difference power value between the power suppliable value including the network home appliances 110a to 110c and the total power consumption value of the power consuming device increases. The beacon period is determined so as to be longer. Details of the power saving control unit 101 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  39 is a block diagram showing a detailed functional configuration of the wireless communication IF 102 shown in FIG. In FIG. 39, the same components as those in the wireless communication IF 22 shown in FIG.

  As shown in the figure, the wireless communication IF 102 includes a wireless transmission unit 31, a wireless reception unit 32, a beacon generation unit 33, a sleep management unit 34, an interface 36, a transmission buffer, which are the same components as the components included in the wireless communication IF 22. 37 and a reception buffer 38, a channel setting unit 104 and a memory 105 are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 36, the channel setting unit 104 has a function of switching channels for channel hopping. The current channel, the total number of channels, the order of hopping channels, etc. are stored in the memory 105.

  The memory 105 stores information such as a beacon period, an active period, an inactive period, a current channel, the total number of channels, and the order of hopping channels. The total number of channels is the total number of frequency channels currently used, and corresponds to the “number of frequency channels” recited in the claims. The memory 105 includes the function of the “channel number storage unit” described in the claims.

  FIG. 40 is a block diagram showing a detailed functional configuration of the power saving control unit 101 shown in FIG. Components having the same functions as those of the blocks of the power saving control unit 23 described in FIG. 6 are assigned the same numbers, and description thereof is omitted here.

  As shown in the figure, the power saving control unit 101 includes a channel information acquisition unit 106 and a power difference calculation unit 46 and a beacon period calculation unit 47, which are the same components as the power saving control unit 23. An active period / inactive period determining unit 107 is provided.

  The beacon period calculation unit 47 has the same function as that in FIG. 6 of the first embodiment. Therefore, in the example using Equation 1 above, the beacon period is calculated as 6 seconds.

  The channel information acquisition unit 106 has a function of acquiring information related to the total number of channels from the memory 105 of the wireless communication IF 102. For example, in the wireless network system of FIG. 37 according to the sixth embodiment, CH1 and CH2 are used, and the total channel information is 2.

  The active period / inactive period determining unit 107 calculates the active period and the inactive period in the beacon period from the beacon period calculated by the beacon period calculating unit 47 and the information on the total number of channels acquired by the channel information acquiring unit 106. Has a function to calculate. The calculation method of the active period is as follows.

    Active period = beacon period x (1 / number of all channels) (Equation 3)

  The inactive period calculation method is as follows.

    Inactive period = beacon period × {1- (1 / number of all channels)} (Formula 4)

  That is, the active period / inactive period determining unit 107 calculates the active period by multiplying the beacon period by the reciprocal of the total number of channels, and multiplies the beacon period by the value obtained by subtracting the reciprocal of the total number of channels from 1. Calculate the inactive period.

  For example, when the beacon period calculation unit 47 calculates the beacon period of 8 sec and the channel information acquisition unit 106 acquires 2 as the total number of channels, the active period / inactivity period determination unit 107 sets the active period to 4 sec ( = 8 × 1/2) and the inactive period is calculated as 4 sec (= 8 × (1−1 / 2)). The active period / inactive period determination unit 107 stores the calculated beacon period, active period, and inactive period in the memory 105 of the wireless communication IF 102.

  Also, consider an example in which the energy controller 100 hops CH1, CH2, CH3, and CH4 as a wireless network system. When the beacon period is calculated by the beacon period calculator 47 and the beacon period is calculated by the beacon period calculator 47, the active period / inactive period determiner 107 sets the active period to 1 sec (= 4 × 1/4). ) And the inactive period is calculated as 3 sec (= 4 × (1-1 / 4)). The active period / inactive period determination unit 107 stores the calculated beacon period, active period, and inactive period in the memory 105 of the wireless communication IF 102.

  In addition, the functional configuration of network home appliances 110a, 110b, and 110c in the sixth embodiment is the same as the functional configuration of network home appliances 11a, 11b, and 11c shown in FIG. 9 of the first embodiment, and a description thereof is omitted here. To do.

  That is, in the sixth embodiment, the energy controller 100 performs channel hopping, but the network home appliances 110a, 110b, and 110c do not perform channel hopping. For this reason, network home appliances 110a to 110c have the same functional configuration as network home appliances 11a to 11c in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 41 is a flowchart showing the operation of the method for changing the beacon period, the active period, and the inactive period by the power saving control unit 101 according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. In this process, the processes from S801 to S803 and S804 to S805 in FIG. 41 are the same as the processes from S801 to S803 and S804 to S805 described in FIG. Is omitted.

  As shown in the figure, first, the power difference calculation unit 46 of the power saving control unit 101 calculates a difference power value between a suppliable power value to the power consuming device and a total power consumption value of the power consuming device ( S801).

  Thereafter, the beacon period calculation unit 47 acquires the maximum value of the maximum change rate as the change rate of the total power consumption value of the power consuming equipment from the home appliance characteristic table 24a (S802).

  Thereafter, the beacon period calculation unit 47 calculates the beacon period by dividing the differential power value by the maximum value of the maximum change rate based on the above-described equation 1 (S803).

  Thereafter, the power saving control unit 101 checks whether the wireless network system is a multi-channel hopping system (S851). Specifically, the power saving control unit 101 refers to the memory 105 of the wireless communication IF 102 to check whether the wireless network system is a multi-channel hopping system.

  When the power saving control unit 101 determines that it is not a multi-channel hopping system (No in S851), the beacon period calculation unit 47 sets the calculated beacon period in the memory 105 of the wireless communication IF 102, as in the first embodiment. The beacon cycle is changed by updating (S804).

  On the other hand, when the power saving control unit 101 determines that the channel is a multi-channel hopping system (Yes in S851), the channel information acquisition unit 106 acquires information on the total number of channels from the memory 105 of the wireless communication IF 102 (S852).

  After that, the active period / inactive period determination unit 107 calculates the active period based on the above formula 3, and calculates the inactive period based on the above formula 4 (S853).

  Thereafter, the active period / inactive period determination unit 107 changes the beacon period, the active period, and the inactive period by updating the beacon period, the active period, and the inactive period in the memory 105 of the wireless communication IF 102 ( S854).

  As described above, the power saving control unit 23 sets the beacon period so that the beacon cycle becomes longer as the difference power value between the power supplyable power value to the power consuming device and the total power consumption value of the power consuming device is larger. Determine the period.

  And wireless communication IF102 transmits the beacon signal containing the information which shows a beacon period, an active period, and an inactive period to network household appliances 110a-110c by each frequency channel (S805).

  According to the sixth embodiment, in a wireless network system in which a wireless control station hops a plurality of frequency channels to communicate with a wireless terminal device, the rate of change characteristic of power consumption of connected home appliances and the suppliable power value And the difference power value between the total power consumption value and the beacon period are calculated. Further, the active period and the inactive period are calculated in consideration of the total number of channels of the wireless network system. As a result, in a system in which a radio control station hops multiple frequency channels, when the differential power value is large, the beacon period is set to be long and low power consumption can be realized by separating the active period and the inactive period . Further, when the difference power value is small, the beacon period is set short, and it becomes possible to immediately respond to the request for peak suppression.

  As described above, according to the energy controller 10 which is a communication apparatus according to the present invention, the rate of change characteristic of the power consumption of each home appliance and the suppliable power value (in-house power generation supply power value, electricity rate fluctuation boundary value, distribution of electricity) Because the beacon period is calculated from the difference power value between the panel power supply capacity value) and the total power consumption value, control is always possible without delaying peak suppression, and if the difference power value is large, the beacon period is set longer. Therefore, low power consumption of the communication terminal device can be realized.

  In addition, it can be applied to a wireless network system in which the beacon period is defined in several patterns as in the IEEE 802.15.4 standard. As a result, in a system in which the beacon period is determined in several types of patterns, The beacon period can be controlled dynamically.

  In addition, it can be applied in a wireless network system in which multiple applications with different allowable delay times operate, and as a result, setting the beacon period exceeding the allowable delay time of the application is prevented and the allowable time of the application is satisfied. It becomes possible.

  In addition, the cycle of transmitting the awake data for controlling the sleep state and the awake state of the communication terminal device, the change rate characteristic of the power consumption of each home appliance, and the suppliable power value (in-house power generation supply power value, electric rate fluctuation boundary value) , Distribution board supply capacity value) and the difference power value between the total power consumption value, so it is possible to control without delay to peak suppression, and if the difference power value is large, the awake data transmission cycle is Since it is set for a long time, the power consumption of the communication terminal device can be reduced. As a result, even in a communication network system in which a beacon frame is not used, when the differential power value is large, the awake data transmission cycle is set to be long so that low power consumption can be realized, and when the differential power value is small, awake data transmission is performed. The period is set short, and it becomes possible to respond immediately to the demand for peak suppression.

  Further, it can be used not only in a wireless network system but also in a PLC network system.

  Also, in communication network systems that use multiple frequency channels, the rate of change characteristics of the power consumption of each home appliance and the suppliable power value (in-house power generation supply power value, electricity price fluctuation boundary value, distribution board supply capacity value) ) And the difference power value between the total power consumption value, the beacon period is calculated, and control is always possible without delaying peak suppression, and the beacon period is set longer when the difference power value is large. Low power consumption of the terminal device can be realized. In addition to calculating the beacon period, the active period and inactive period are calculated in the beacon period from the total number of channels used, so low power consumption in the inactive period of the communication terminal device operating in each frequency channel Can be realized.

  Although the communication device according to the present invention has been described using the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this.

  That is, the embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 42, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the energy controller 10 only needs to include the power saving control unit 23 and the wireless communication IF 22, and the device characteristic storage unit 24 and the power management storage unit 25 are included. And the peak suppression part 26 does not need to be provided. FIG. 42 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the energy controller according to a modification of the embodiment of the present invention. That is, the power saving control unit 23 subtracts the total power consumption value of the power consuming device from the suppliable power value to the power consuming device based on the information obtained from the distribution board 12, the power generation device 13, and the power storage device 14. The beacon period is determined so that the beacon period becomes longer as the difference power value is larger. In addition, the wireless communication IF 22 transmits a beacon signal including information indicating the determined beacon period to the network home appliances 11a to 11c. Note that the energy controllers in the other second to sixth embodiments may have the same configuration as that of the energy controller 10 shown in FIG.

  In Embodiment 1, Embodiment 2, Embodiment 3, Embodiment 4, Embodiment 5, Embodiment 6 of the present invention, a device having the function of a control station is defined as an energy controller and a terminal device. A device having a function is assumed to be a network home appliance, and a configuration of a device at a mounting destination assuming an EMS application. However, the configuration is not limited to the above configuration, and the device having the function of the control station may be a television, and the terminal device may be not only a network home appliance, but also an electronic control door, an electric vehicle, or the like. possible. Or the function which has a function of a control station and a terminal device may isolate | separate independently, and it may become a communication adapter which can be externally connected to household appliances. Thus, the present invention is not limited to energy controllers and network home appliances, and can be mounted on or externally attached to all electric machines and electronic devices.

  In addition, the wireless communication IF in the first embodiment, the second embodiment, the third embodiment, the fourth embodiment, and the sixth embodiment of the present invention and the PLC communication IF in the fifth embodiment of the present invention are wireless and power lines. Not only the (electric light line), but also an interface connected to a telephone line, a coaxial cable, an optical cable or the like may be used. Further, the wireless communication IF or the PLC communication IF may be a communication interface such as Ethernet (registered trademark), USB (Universal Serial Bus), HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) (registered trademark), or IEEE1394. Thus, the energy controller and the network home appliance of the present invention can communicate with each other through various transmission media.

  In addition, the assumed applications of the first embodiment, the second embodiment, the third embodiment, the fourth embodiment, the fifth embodiment, and the sixth embodiment of the present invention suppress peak power consumption of home appliances in the home. Although targeted peak cut and peak shift are not limited to this, DSM (Demand Side Management) and DR (Demand Response) for smart grids, security intrusion notification for crime prevention security, comfortable For example, home appliance control from outside the house for convenience and traceability of home appliances for product safety may be used. Thereby, the control station and the terminal device of the present invention can operate in various applications.

  In addition, the assumed applications of the first embodiment, the second embodiment, the third embodiment, the fourth embodiment, the fifth embodiment, and the sixth embodiment of the present invention suppress peak power consumption of home appliances in the home. Although the target peak cut or peak shift is used, if there is no target device for peak suppression, it can be easily considered to stop the control of the beacon period. For example, in the case of peak suppression in FIG. 8, if all devices are not, the beacon cycle control can be dynamically stopped.

  Further, the home appliance characteristic table 24a of the first embodiment, the second embodiment, the third embodiment, the fourth embodiment, the fifth embodiment, and the sixth embodiment of the present invention may be held in advance by the energy controller. Although it is possible, it is not limited to this, It is also possible for an energy controller to generate | occur | produce while monitoring the operation condition of each apparatus. For example, the rate of change can be learned and updated by monitoring time fluctuations in the power consumption of the microwave oven.

  In addition, the constituent elements of Embodiment 1, Embodiment 2, Embodiment 3, Embodiment 4, Embodiment 5, Embodiment 6 of the present invention are combined to form a new structure. Is also possible. For example, by combining the energy controller 10b according to the fifth embodiment and the energy controller 100 according to the sixth embodiment, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which multiple channel hopping is used in the PLC network system. Thereby, it can utilize in the PLC network of multiple channels.

  The unit of power consumption in the first embodiment, the second embodiment, the third embodiment, the fourth embodiment, the fifth embodiment, and the sixth embodiment of the present invention is W (watt). However, it is also possible to use watt hour (Wh) and kilowatt hour (kWh) as a unit of power consumption. In addition to power consumption and power consumption, it is also possible to use current consumption (unit: amperes) and voltage consumption (unit: volts).

  The configurations of the first embodiment, the second embodiment, the third embodiment, the fourth embodiment, the fifth embodiment, and the sixth embodiment of the present invention are for causing a computer that operates on a CPU or MPU to execute. It can also be realized as a program. The program can be stored in a storage medium such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory), or can be distributed via a transmission medium such as the Internet.

  In addition, the configuration of the first embodiment, the second embodiment, the third embodiment, the fourth embodiment, the fifth embodiment, and the sixth embodiment of the present application is not limited to a software configuration that operates on a CPU or MPU. Alternatively, it may be realized by hardware such as LSI (Large Scale Integration) which is typically an integrated circuit. These may be individually made into one chip, or may be made into one chip so as to include all or part of the structure. An integrated circuit may be referred to as an IC, a system LSI, a super LSI, an ultra LSI, or the like depending on the degree of integration. Further, the method of the integrated circuit is not limited to the LSI, and may be realized using a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. Further, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or a reconfigurable processor that can reconfigure the connection and setting of circuit cells inside the LSI may be used. Further, if integrated circuit technology comes out to replace current semiconductor technology as a result of the advancement of semiconductor technology or a derivative other technology, it is naturally also possible to carry out function block integration using this technology. For example, biotechnological applications can be considered.

  In addition, the present invention can be realized not only as such a communication device but also as a method using steps of the processing units constituting the communication device.

  The communication apparatus according to the present invention and the transmission cycle control method of a beacon signal transmitted by the communication apparatus are useful for energy management systems (EMS) such as peak suppression.

10, 10b, 100, 1021 Energy controller 11a-11c, 11ab-11cb, 110a-110c, 1022, 1023, 1024 Network home appliances 12, 12b, 1025 Distribution board 13, 13b Power generation device 14, 14b Power storage device 21 Antenna 21b Outlet Plug 22, 61, 92, 102 Wireless communication IF
22b, 61b PLC communication IF
23, 71, 81, 91, 101 Power saving control unit 24 Device characteristic storage unit 24a Home appliance characteristic table 25 Power management storage unit 25a, 25b Power management table 26 Peak suppression unit 31 Wireless transmission unit 31b PLC transmission unit 32 Wireless reception unit 32b PLC receiving unit 33 beacon generating unit 34 sleep managing unit 35 memory 36 interface 37 transmission buffer 38 receiving buffer 46 power difference calculating unit 47 beacon period calculating unit 51 visualization control unit 52 power visualization storage unit 52a power visualization table 53 threshold monitoring unit 54 peak Cut control unit 62 Peak suppression unit 65 Beacon analysis unit 66 Sleep management unit 72 Transmission cycle pattern storage unit 72a Beacon table 73 Beacon cycle selection unit 82 App allowable delay storage unit 82a App allowable delay table 83 B Period comparison unit 93 awake data generation unit 95 power saving control unit 104 channel setting unit 105 memory 106 channel information acquisition unit 107 active period / inactive period determination unit 210 power line 220 wired 230 wireless 1001 control station 1002, 1003, 1004 terminal Device 1006, 2002a, 2002b Beacon period 1007, 2003a, 2003b Active period 1008, 2004a, 2004b Inactive period 2001a, 2001b Superframe period

Claims (14)

By transmitting a signal for establishing transmission / reception of data to the communication terminal device when the communication terminal device that repeats a start state that is in a communicable state and a sleep state that is a state in which communication is not possible is in a start state, A communication device that transmits and receives the data to and from the communication terminal device,
As the difference power value, which is a value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption value of the power consuming device from the suppliable power value including the communication terminal device, increases the transmission cycle for transmitting the signal. And a power saving control unit for determining the transmission period;
A communication interface unit for transmitting the signal including information indicating the determined transmission period to the communication terminal apparatus in order to activate the communication terminal apparatus at a period according to the determined transmission period; A communication device provided. further,
A power management storage unit that stores the generated power value of the power generation device, the stored power value of the power storage device, and the total power consumption value of the power consuming device;
The power saving control unit calculates the difference power value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption value from the supplyable power value, using the total of the generated power value and the accumulated power value as the supplyable power value. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission period is determined so that the transmission period becomes longer as the difference power value is larger. further,
A power management storage unit that stores an electricity price fluctuation boundary value that is a power value at a boundary where the electricity price increases and a total power consumption value of the power consuming device;
The power saving control unit calculates the difference power value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption value from the suppliable power value using the electricity price fluctuation boundary value as the suppliable power value, and the calculated difference power value is The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission period is determined such that the transmission period becomes longer as the value increases. further,
A power management storage unit that stores a distribution board supply capability value indicating a power value that can be supplied by the distribution board, and a total power consumption value of the power consuming device;
The power saving control unit calculates the differential power value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption value from the suppliable power value using the distribution board supply capability value as the suppliable power value, and the calculated differential power value The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission period is determined such that the transmission period becomes longer as the value of the transmission period increases. further,
A device characteristic storage unit that stores the rate of change of the power consumption value of each of the power consuming devices,
The power saving control unit calculates, as a transmission cycle, a value obtained by dividing the differential power value by a value obtained using the rate of change of the total power consumption value calculated from the rate of change of the power consumption value. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission cycle is determined. further,
A transmission cycle pattern storage unit that stores a transmission cycle pattern that is a pattern of the transmission cycle,
The power saving control unit calculates a transmission cycle such that a transmission cycle for transmitting the signal becomes longer as the difference power value is larger, and is less than the calculated transmission cycle from the transmission cycle pattern and The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a longest transmission cycle in the transmission cycle pattern is determined as the transmission cycle. further,
An application allowable delay storage unit storing an allowable delay time that is an allowable delay time when executing a predetermined application;
The power saving control unit
Calculate the transmission cycle such that the transmission cycle for transmitting the signal becomes longer as the difference power value is larger,
When the calculated transmission cycle is longer than the shortest allowable delay time among the allowable delay times stored in the application allowable delay storage unit, the shortest allowable delay time is used as the transmission cycle. Decide
The communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein when the calculated transmission cycle is equal to or shorter than an allowable delay time of the shortest value, the calculated transmission cycle is determined as the transmission cycle. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the signal is a beacon signal or an awake signal that controls an activation state and a sleep state of the communication terminal device. further,
A channel number storage unit that stores the number of frequency channels, which is the total number of frequency channels currently used,
The power saving control unit further calculates an active period and an inactive period in the determined transmission period using the number of frequency channels,
The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the communication interface unit transmits the signal including information indicating the transmission cycle, the active period, and the inactive period on each frequency channel. The power saving control unit
Multiplying the determined transmission period by the reciprocal of the number of frequency channels to calculate the active period,
The communication apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the inactive period is calculated by multiplying the determined transmission cycle by a value obtained by subtracting the reciprocal of the frequency channel number from 1. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the communication interface unit is a wireless communication interface or a power line communication interface compliant with the IEEE 802.15.4 standard. By transmitting a signal for establishing transmission / reception of data to the communication terminal device when the communication terminal device that repeats a start state that is in a communicable state and a sleep state that is a state in which communication is not possible is in a start state, A communication method for transmitting and receiving the data to and from the communication terminal device,
As the difference power value, which is a value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption value of the power consuming device from the suppliable power value including the communication terminal device, increases the transmission cycle for transmitting the signal. Determining step for determining the transmission period;
Transmitting the signal including information indicating the determined transmission period to the communication terminal apparatus in order to activate the communication terminal apparatus at a period according to the determined transmission period. Communication method. By transmitting a signal for establishing transmission / reception of data to the communication terminal device when the communication terminal device that repeats a start state that is in a communicable state and a sleep state that is a state in which communication is not possible is in a start state, A computer-readable recording medium recording a program for transmitting / receiving the data to / from the communication terminal device,
As the difference power value, which is a value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption value of the power consuming device from the suppliable power value including the communication terminal device, increases the transmission cycle for transmitting the signal. Determining step for determining the transmission period;
A transmission step of transmitting the signal including information indicating the determined transmission period to the communication terminal apparatus in order to activate the communication terminal apparatus at a period according to the determined transmission period; A computer-readable recording medium on which a program to be executed is recorded. By transmitting a signal for establishing transmission / reception of data to the communication terminal device when the communication terminal device that repeats a start state that is in a communicable state and a sleep state that is a state in which communication is not possible is in a start state, An integrated circuit that transmits and receives the data to and from the communication terminal device,
As the difference power value, which is a value obtained by subtracting the total power consumption value of the power consuming device from the suppliable power value including the communication terminal device, increases the transmission cycle for transmitting the signal. And a power saving control unit for determining the transmission period;
A communication interface unit for transmitting the signal including information indicating the determined transmission period to the communication terminal apparatus in order to activate the communication terminal apparatus at a period according to the determined transmission period; Integrated circuit provided.

Images